Advice Appreciated

[asut]

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Hi! I recently finished my first postbacc semester and I was hoping to get some feedback to improve my chances of getting into medical school. I received my degree in Finance (BBA) from UT Austin, and then I worked full-time for my family's company for 2 years. I gained a lot of valuable experience there and wouldn't change anything, but it wasn't what I really wanted to do, so I decided to go back to school. I started taking the prerequisite classes for medical school at a local UT system university this past fall semester. I no longer work full-time, but I do work for them on occasion on the side. I've been volunteering at a hospital since early December. During my undergrad, I was an officer in a large professional student organization, spent a semester preparing taxes for low income filers as part of an accounting practicum, and worked during the summers.

My undergrad was in Business Administration majoring in Finance, with a minor in Accounting. My Cumulative GPA was 3.85, but since I'm a non-trad major, I'm a little bit concerned about my Bs here. I had 3 Bs, one of which was a bio class for non-majors, and the others Psychology and Accounting I. Each one of those could have easily been an A, but I was 18.

My GPA at the postbacc university is a 4.0, but a large portion of that GPA is summer courses I took while at UT for business. This past semester I only took General Chemistry I w/ Lab and Physics I w/ Lab and got A's in both of those. I'm a little worried that schools might frown upon the workload since I'm not planning on getting another degree. Next semester I'm taking General Chemistry II, Physics II, and Bio I which amounts to 12 hours. I'm expecting to take the MCAT around May 2013.

I'm planning on shadowing physicians and volunteering until I leave school. I managed to watch an endoscopy at the hospital which was very cool, and I'll be spending more time with that doctor.

How are medical schools going to view my being a non-trad but not working anymore? Any suggestions on how to stand out or improve my odds? Any help is appreciated.

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

How are medical schools going to view my being a non-trad but not working anymore? Any suggestions on how to stand out or improve my odds? Any help is appreciated.

Your grades are fine. I doubt that ad coms will even notice how much your were working during these courses. A few B's is normal.

Shadowing is good, volunteering is good, clinical experience is good. Work on those in addition to courses and the MCAT.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

All of this sounds great! Good luck!

 

[Deekle]

You're sitting pretty. Rock your MCAT and you'll get in without a hitch.

 

[STxHorn]

I have to agree, as well. You're doing great based upon what you've communicated here. As a fellow non-trad, I'd say since you're looking really good now, all that's left is to complete the package by crystallizing your motivations for becoming a doc, first in your mind, then in regard to what will go into your personal statements/interviews. If you've already done that, great. You'll be in easily, IMO.


Sent from my medical tricorder using Tapatalk

 

[asut]

I forgot to mention that while I was pursuing my undergrad at UT, I signed up for a winter semester speech course at my current university. I ended up having to go out of town for family obligations, so I didn't pay the tuition, and (wrongly) assumed that I would be dropped from the course for non-payment, as I was under the impression that if you don't pay tuition by the deadline, you are dropped from your courses. Needless to say, I got an F in that class without knowing or attending until it was too late. I never really thought about that until I saw it on my transcript recently. I took the course for real in the maymester and used the grade replacement policy and got an A. How will this affect me?

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

Needless to say, I got an F in that class without knowing or attending until it was too late. I never really thought about that until I saw it on my transcript recently. I took the course for real in the maymester and used the grade replacement policy and got an A. How will this affect me?

If the F doesn't appear on your transcript, it doesn't matter. If it does appear, one F won't matter much. Plus, there's not much you can do about it now.